


lifeline

by iron_spider



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: A4 Speculation, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Gen, Hurt Tony Stark, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Precious Peter Parker, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2018-10-03
Packaged: 2019-07-23 16:50:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16162958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iron_spider/pseuds/iron_spider
Summary: “Mr. Stark,” Peter says, scooting closer, his eyes wide.Tony sorta feels like he’s hallucinating him. He was forced to live without him, forced to continue on, and even though his absence never really became the norm, it was the unfortunate situation he had to live with. Everything they did to save the world feels like a faraway dream and he can’t pick out what’s real and what’s not—not that he had much time for a real reunion with Peter then, anyways. They didn’t get to have a moment, a real moment, but now he’s here. There’s no more fighting, no more madness, no more death. They’ve settled into a quiet peace, a peace that they earned in their losses. And the things—and people—they got back.Tony’s heart constricts, looking at Peter’s face, which slowly and surely comes into focus.





	lifeline

When Tony opens his eyes he can’t see. Everything is fuzzy, too bright, and the pain is nearly overwhelming. It sits like individual weights over his whole torso, his right leg, his left arm. His left arm, more than anything, feels like a piece of meat that’s barely connected to his body. His heart feels like it’s beating more slowly than it used to, but his brain seems to be processing information better than it did last time he woke up. He can barely remember the first two times. This time he knows he’s in the med bay in the compound. This time he can feel every bit of nerve damage in his arm and in his hand, torn muscles and shattered bones. This time, instead of Pepper at his side, it’s Peter, and Tony can see the outline of him there next to the bed.

Last time he woke up his brain was scrambled, his whole body was on fire, and he thought he was in hell. He thought he was dead, and the only way he knew he wasn’t was Pepper’s voice, soft and close to his ear. 

_I’m here. I’m here, Tony, you’re alive. I love you._

The first time was only darkness. Rapid beeping. He was sinking under concrete. 

“Mr. Stark,” Peter says, scooting closer, his eyes wide.

Tony sorta feels like he’s hallucinating him. He was forced to live without him, forced to continue on, and even though his absence never really became the norm, it was the unfortunate situation he had to live with. Everything they did to save the world feels like a faraway dream and he can’t pick out what’s real and what’s not—not that he had much time for a real reunion with Peter then, anyways. They didn’t get to have a moment, a real moment, but now he’s here. There’s no more fighting, no more madness, no more death. They’ve settled into a quiet peace, a peace that they earned in their losses. And the things—and people—they got back.

Tony’s heart constricts, looking at Peter’s face, which slowly and surely comes into focus. 

Tony imagined him a lot, when he wasn’t there. Imagined him diligently working alongside him in the workshop, standing in the open fridge in the kitchen eating the last strawberry yogurt, searching through Tony’s movie collection like he used to do on Saturday nights. When May visited it was worse, Tony would always expect Peter to holler at them from the living room like he tended to do when he heard them talking about him, but the pain and sorrow in May’s eyes always brought the crushing reality back into focus. Peter was gone. Peter was dead.

But now Peter takes his hand and Tony knows, remembers that what they did worked. That all the horror they went through brought him back. That even though he feels like a living, breathing corpse, Peter Parker is alive. The world is spinning again. 

“Hey, Pete,” Tony croaks, and he sounds like death. His voice is rough from lack of use, and he tries to clear his throat. 

“Hi,” Peter says, tentatively, smiling softly. He stares at him for a second, his mouth opening and closing, and he blinks over and over again. “I’ve been here but you’ve been sleeping a lot,” he says, fast, like he’s afraid Tony isn’t gonna make it to hear the end of his sentence. “Uh—Pepper’s talking to Helen in the hallway, Bruce is next door, the others—the others, uh—” Tears spring to his eyes and Peter quickly swipes them away with his free hand, and the imaginary weight pressing down on Tony’s body feels heavier, for a second. He doesn’t want to think of their fractured group, and he wonders if they’ve had any funerals yet. He can imagine the talking heads on CNN speculating on his condition, wondering if there’ll be a funeral for him, too. 

Well, fuck them. He’s not going anywhere.

“—the others are downstairs,” Peter says. He blinks a bunch more, his eyes watering, and he looks around. “I put on _I Love Lucy_ because I know you like to watch that when you’re sick. The chocolate episode’s gonna be on at four, so—so I’m glad you’re awake. Because you like that one. But if you go back to sleep that’s fine, too, I mean, you need a lot of sleep.”

Tony stares at him. He can’t stop staring. The kid’s rambling is like music to his ears, and he closes his eyes against the onslaught of emotion that wells up in him. The love and affection, pure thankfulness and relief. He smiles to himself and squeezes Peter’s hand. 

He remembers what it was like, when he first saw him again. Out of everything, that’s what he remembers the best. It felt like the sky opening up, and he’s never really believed in miracles, but seeing the kid standing, breathing, _existing_ again felt like one. A bright and shining miracle. The thing he’d been working for, wishing for, praying for. In that moment he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t think. Nothing has ever felt so fragile and so important at the same time. 

“I’m sorry,” Peter whispers, holding Tony’s hand with both of his own. “This, all this—”

“Nope,” Tony says, opening his eyes again. He shakes his head at Peter. “Nope, sorry.”

“You don’t even know what I’m gonna say.”

“Yeah, I do,” Tony says. “I have—the gift now, Pete, I can see the future. I can see—all your blaming yourself bullshit and I—I reject it wholeheartedly.”

Peter sighs.

“And your heavy sighs.”

“You’re not gonna be able to be Iron Man anymore,” Peter says, when Tony meets his eyes. 

Tony vaguely remembers hearing that, somewhere in the haze of the journey from the battlefield to this bed. He doesn’t think it was said to him, but whispered in the room when they thought he was out—and maybe he was, he mostly has been since he got here—but that’s the kind of sentence that worms its way into your head and stays there. But he doesn’t tell the kid no one’s really broken that sad fact to his face yet, doesn’t mention the shockwave that it sends through his core and his soul and every fiber of his being.

He goes with the patented defiance instead. “Never count me out,” he says. 

Peter sighs again. He looks away but Tony keeps looking at him. He looks just the same, and Tony appreciates the moment, despite the circumstances. Every moment in which Peter is alive is one to appreciate. One to thank God for, one to live in and soak up. He squeezes Peter’s hand to get his attention. He’s worried he looks like a bloody pulp, because he feels like one, but Peter doesn’t wince away from him. “Kid, it’s—I know we didn’t get to say much, out there—”

“I’m sorry—”

“No,” Tony says, shaking his head best he can. “That phrase is outlawed. If you save the world you can—outlaw phrases. And that’s mine, from you. I’m sending the notice…to Congress.”

Peter scoffs, but he’s smiling.

“But anyway—I just—it’s…it’s so good…so good to see you.” His voice breaks on the last word. They’ve lost so much, he can’t—he can’t think about it, but Peter’s…Peter’s here. The kid got his life back. Tony laughs a little bit, a tear quickly racing down his face. He can’t wipe it away because he can’t move his left arm, it’s practically fused to his side in a cast, but even if it wasn’t, he doubts he’d be able to move it anyway. But he’s not really embarrassed of his tears. In the beginning, he didn’t let the kid see how much he cared, he tried to be cool and slick about it. But he can’t really hide it anymore. It’s written all over him, he says it without saying it. Everybody knows what Peter means to him, what he did to bring him back. This is _his kid._

“You too,” Peter says, and he’s crying too, shifting his jaw back and forth. “I’m so happy to see you. So—so happy to see you, Mr. Stark, you don’t even know.”

Tony smiles, nodding at him. “How long, uh—have we been back?”

“It’s, um—coming up on two weeks.”

That feels like a gut punch but he doesn’t know why he’s surprised. He’s lucky he’s alive, he knows he should be expecting a couple of months feeling like this. Probably longer.

“You—go back to school?”

“Yeah,” Peter says, but his voice goes a little low.

Tony narrows his eyes. “Not good?”

“It’s not important,” he says, sucking in a breath and smiling a little sadly. “Let’s talk about you, I wanna—”

“Kid,” Tony says, wanting to laugh, but it hurts his goddamn ribs. “There’s—nothing going on with me, I’m—I’m laying here, this is—my first real bout with consciousness—”

“I should get Pepper—”

“Gimme a sec,” Tony says, tugging weakly on Peter’s wrist when he tries to pull away. “School—not good?”

“It’s fine,” Peter says, but he looks like he’s on the verge of tears again. “It’s weird, different, but it’s—been easier than I thought to…to adjust, I mean…other kids disappeared too, but, I just—they’re already talking about a European field trip for my academic decathlon team and I just—I don’t know—”

“You should go,” Tony says. Shit, a vacation feels like the perfect thing for the kid to do. “I’ll pay for it.”

“It’s not that—”

“But I will—”

“I don’t wanna leave you,” Peter says, a little loud, holding Tony’s hand tighter. There’s a brief silence that Tony sinks into, staring at him. “Especially when you’re like this. Anything could happen and I’ve—I’ve been gone and you’re—you—”

“I’m not going anywhere, buddy,” Tony says, cutting him off. “I promise. I promise you. I’m not dying and I’m—also not going anywhere, literally. You should—you should do this field trip. I mean it. It’ll be good for you, it’ll be a good break. If May’s on board, I think…I think it’ll be good.”

“I don’t know,” Peter says, picking at the edge of the sheet with his free hand.

“I do, and I think I’m the one with more life experience, so you should trust me,” Tony says. He tugs on Peter’s hand a little bit. “You could Facetime me. Show me the sights. It’ll be like I’m there too. Show me all the…good food I won’t be able to eat.” 

Peter smiles a little bit, shaking his head. “Maybe.”

Tony watches the cogs turning in Peter’s head, can see him thinking it through, and Jesus, Tony wants him to be happy. He wants him to be able to be a kid, especially after all they’ve been through. He deserves it, more than anybody. Tony tries not to think of anything else. Everything they lost to get this moment, the way his body feels broken beyond repair, even the kinds of repair he’s capable of.

He just looks at Peter. Alive.

“I’m so glad you’re back, kid,” he whispers, planning tons of bone-crushing hugs for when he can move again.

“Me too,” Peter says. “I am too.” He clutches Tony’s hand like a lifeline, and Tony clutches back.

**Author's Note:**

> A little something that's been floating around in my head <3


End file.
